Supersize Food Choices May Be Linked to Status Seeking

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Consumers who feel powerless reach for extra-large portions of
food in an effort to increase their social standing in the eyes
of others, a new study suggests.

"An ongoing trend in food consumption is consumers' tendency
to eat more and more," the researchers wrote in the study to
be published in the April 2012 print edition of the Journal of
Consumer Research. "The increase in food consumption is
particularly prevalent among vulnerable populations, such as
lower socioeconomic status consumers."

Researchers from the French business school École des Hautes
Études Commerciales de Paris and Northwestern University in
Illinois conducted several experiments to see why people of lower
social standings made poor health decisions by selecting
larger food portions.

The study authors noted that cultural norms associate some larger
items, such as houses, vehicles or flatscreen TVs, with wealth,
success and high
social status. If consumers feel unhappy with their status,
they may take this belief and apply it to food, the researchers
suggested.

These consumers may attempt to compensate for their perceived
lower status by showing others that they can afford to buy the
larger sizes, but instead of a Mcmansion they buy larger portion
sizes, according to the researchers. In one of the experiments,
the participants perceived that consumers who bought a large
coffee at a cafe had a higher status than those who chose medium
or small — even when the price of all sizes was the same.

Another experiment showed that consumers who felt powerless chose
larger pieces of bagels than other participants who did not feel
powerless. Low-power participants also tended to choose
larger smoothies when they were at a social event than when
they bought the drink alone.

"Because vulnerable consumers are prone to express their status
in order to compensate for their undesirable position and respond
to daily threats, this research further proposes that the
tendency to use the size of food options within an assortment
will be particularly strong among those consumers who feel
powerless," the authors wrote.

However, the researchers found that those compensating for low
status with big food items can be influenced into making
healthier decisions when it comes to food. In another experiment,
when the "powerless" participants were told that smaller hors
d'oeuvres were served at prestigious events, they then
chose smaller food items that had fewer calories.

"Understanding and monitoring the size-to-status relationship of
food options within an assortment is an important tool at the
disposal of policymakers to effectively fight against
overconsumption," the authors wrote.

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